Relative prominence of elements within an advertisement

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, providing to a user device a video content item including at least one scene which includes a plurality of advertisement placement opportunities and determining a preference profile for an individual associated with the user device. Aspects further include selecting a group of matching advertisements having advertisement profiles that match the preference profile for the individual and determining a relative prominence score for each advertisement placement opportunity. Aspects further include ordering the matching advertisements according to prominence information specified for each matching advertisement, wherein the prominence information corresponds to a relative desired prominence specified by an advertiser associated with the matching advertisement. Aspects further include providing the ordered matching advertisements to the user device according to the respective prominence information so that a matching advertisement having a greatest desired prominence is displayed in the video content item at an advertisement placement opportunity having a highest relative prominence score. Other embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application claims priority to and is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/843,539, filed Apr. 8, 2020, pending. Allsections of the aforementioned application and/or patents areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The subject disclosure relates to relative prominence of elements withinan advertisement within a displayed video item.

BACKGROUND

Display of content items such as advertising within a video or othercontent is known, for example for targeting the content items tospecific audiences or viewers. Such display has been used to insertproduct placement into content such as films or to modify productplacement from one product to another.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary, non-limitingembodiment of a communications network in accordance with variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a system functioning within the communication network ofFIG. 1 in accordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a system for displaying a content item while deliveringmedia content to a media display device such as user device andfunctioning within the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordancewith various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2C depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method in accordancewith various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2D is a block diagram showing an exemplary user device displaying acontent item in which other content items have been inserted in contentdelivery opportunities in accordance with the method of FIG. 2C.

FIG. 2E is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a system for displaying a content item while deliveringmedia content to a media display device such as user device andfunctioning within the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordancewith various aspects described herein.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a virtualized communication network in accordance withvarious aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of acomputing environment in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of amobile network platform in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of acommunication device in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject disclosure describes, among other things, illustrativeembodiments for determining how to present content elements within acombined content item with varying relative levels of prominence amongthe content elements. Presentation may be based on aggregate viewershipof content elements or based on a specific viewer. Other embodiments aredescribed in the subject disclosure.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include receiving, over anetwork, a request to deliver media content to a media display deviceand detecting a plurality of content placement opportunities in themedia content. Aspects further include determining, for each contentplacement opportunity, a relative prominence score, includingdetermining the relative prominence score based on a relative importancein a scene of the respective content placement opportunity. Aspectsfurther include delivering the media content over the network to themedia display device and selecting a plurality of content items toinclude in the media content. Selecting the content items includesselecting a respective content item for each respective contentplacement opportunity of the plurality of content placementopportunities according to the respective relative prominence score forthe respective content placement opportunity. Each respective contentitem is delivered over the network to the media display device.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include providing acontent item to a media display device and detecting a plurality ofcontent placement opportunities in a scene of the content item, whereeach respective content placement opportunity of the plurality ofcontent placement opportunities has a relative prominence in the sceneof the content item. Aspects further include detecting a preferenceprofile for a user of the media display device and identifying a firstplurality of matching advertising items that match the preferenceprofile for the user. Aspects further include selecting a secondplurality of matching advertising items according to respectiveprominence information of the first plurality of matching advertisingitems and providing the second plurality of matching advertising itemsto the media display device. Each respective matching advertising itemof the second plurality of matching advertising items is associated witha respective content placement opportunity of the plurality of contentplacement opportunities.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include, for example,providing to a user device a video content item including at least onescene which includes a plurality of advertisement placementopportunities and determining a preference profile for an individualassociated with the user device. Aspects further include selecting agroup of matching advertisements having advertisement profiles thatmatch the preference profile for the individual and determining arelative prominence score for each advertisement placement opportunity.Aspects further include ordering the matching advertisements accordingto prominence information specified for each matching advertisement,wherein the prominence information corresponds to a relative desiredprominence specified by an advertiser associated with the matchingadvertisement. Aspects further include providing the ordered matchingadvertisements to the user device according to the respective prominenceinformation so that a matching advertisement having a greatest desiredprominence is displayed in the video content item at an advertisementplacement opportunity having a highest relative prominence score.

Referring now to FIG. 1 , a block diagram is shown illustrating anexample, non-limiting embodiment of a communications network 100 inaccordance with various aspects described herein. For example,communications network 100 can facilitate in whole or in part providinga content item such as a video or other media content item toaudio/video display devices 144, data terminals 114, or other networkelements 150, 152, 154, 156 wherein the content item includes aplurality of content placement opportunities which each have a relativeprominence in a scene or portion of the content item, and providingadvertisements or other content items according to desired prominence sothat, for example, an advertisement having a highest desired prominenceby an advertiser is placed most prominently in the content item.

In particular, a communications network 125 is presented for providingbroadband access 110 to a plurality of data terminals 114 via accessterminal 112, wireless access 120 to a plurality of mobile devices 124and vehicle 126 via base station or access point 122, voice access 130to a plurality of telephony devices 134, via switching device 132 and/ormedia access 140 to a plurality of audio/video display devices 144 viamedia terminal 142. In addition, communication network 125 is coupled toone or more content sources 175 of audio, video, graphics, text and/orother media. While broadband access 110, wireless access 120, voiceaccess 130 and media access 140 are shown separately, one or more ofthese forms of access can be combined to provide multiple accessservices to a single client device (e.g., mobile devices 124 can receivemedia content via media terminal 142, data terminal 114 can be providedvoice access via switching device 132, and so on).

The communications network 125 includes a plurality of network elements(NE) 150, 152, 154, 156, etc. for facilitating the broadband access 110,wireless access 120, voice access 130, media access 140 and/or thedistribution of content from content sources 175. The communicationsnetwork 125 can include a circuit switched or packet switched network, avoice over Internet protocol (VoIP) network, Internet protocol (IP)network, a cable network, a passive or active optical network, a 4G, 5G,or higher generation wireless access network, WIMAX network,UltraWideband network, personal area network or other wireless accessnetwork, a broadcast satellite network and/or another communicationsnetwork.

In various embodiments, the access terminal 112 can include a digitalsubscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM), cable modem terminationsystem (CMTS), optical line terminal (OLT) and/or other access terminal.The data terminals 114 can include personal computers, laptop computers,netbook computers, tablets or other computing devices along with digitalsubscriber line (DSL) modems, data over coax service interfacespecification (DOCSIS) modems or other cable modems, a wireless modemsuch as a 4G, 5G, or higher generation modem, an optical modem and/orother access devices.

In various embodiments, the base station or access point 122 can includea 4G, 5G, or higher generation base station, an access point thatoperates via an 802.11 standard such as 802.11n, 802.11ac or otherwireless access terminal. The mobile devices 124 can include mobilephones, e-readers, tablets, phablets, wireless modems, and/or othermobile computing devices.

In various embodiments, the switching device 132 can include a privatebranch exchange or central office switch, a media services gateway, VoIPgateway or other gateway device and/or other switching device. Thetelephony devices 134 can include traditional telephones (with orwithout a terminal adapter), VoIP telephones and/or other telephonydevices.

In various embodiments, the media terminal 142 can include a cablehead-end or other TV head-end, a satellite receiver, gateway or othermedia terminal 142. The display devices 144 can include televisions withor without a set top box, personal computers and/or other displaydevices.

In various embodiments, the content sources 175 include broadcasttelevision and radio sources, video on demand platforms and streamingvideo and audio services platforms, one or more content data networks,data servers, web servers and other content servers, and/or othersources of media.

In various embodiments, the communications network 125 can includewired, optical and/or wireless links and the network elements 150, 152,154, 156, etc. can include service switching points, signal transferpoints, service control points, network gateways, media distributionhubs, servers, firewalls, routers, edge devices, switches and othernetwork nodes for routing and controlling communications traffic overwired, optical and wireless links as part of the Internet and otherpublic networks as well as one or more private networks, for managingsubscriber access, for billing and network management and for supportingother network functions.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of displaying a content item while delivering media contentto a media display device in a system functioning within thecommunication network of FIG. 1 in accordance with various aspectsdescribed herein. In FIG. 2A, a user device 200 is displaying a firstimage 202 of a content item 204. Also in FIG. 2A, by way of contrast,the user device 200 displays a second image 206 including the samecontent item 204. The user device 200 in the illustrated example is aportable device such as a mobile telephone. The user device 200 includesa display screen suitable to display content items such as the images202, 206 and the content item 204. The user device 200 may furtherinclude a connection to a remote network for receiving content itemssuch as the images 202, 206 and the content item 204. Further, the userdevice 200 may further include a memory for storing content items suchas the images 202, 206 and the content item 204.

The content item 204 in the example includes an image of a man and awoman dressed in casual clothes. He wears an open shirt with a collarover a t-shirt. They stand facing the camera in front of a grassy areapopulated by other people who generally have their backs to the camera.Some of the other people appear to be in motion, either toward thecamera or away from the camera. The man and the woman appear to betalking. He looks past the camera; she looks at him. The content item204 may be a still image or may be a frame or image from a motionpicture, television program, video game or other similar content. Thedetails of the content item are important primarily as an illustrativeexample. The details and various aspects of the embodiments discussedherein may be extended to the widest variety of content items includingvideo, still images, audio, text and other content types as well.

In the first image 202 of FIG. 2A, the front of the man's t-shirt ispartially visible. It bears a first logo 208 and name of a firstrestaurant chain. In one embodiment, the first logo is part of thecontent of the first image 202 and the content item 204. That is, forexample, in a film incorporating the first image 202, the man is wearinga shirt that actually includes the first logo 208. The first logo 208 ispart of the content of the first image 202 or of the content item 204such as the video incorporating the image 202. In another embodiment,the first logo 208 is located in an area 210 of the first image 202 thathas been marked for insertion of one or more content items. The area 210may be added to the first image 202 or content item 204 in order toreceive the one or more content items. In the second image 206 of FIG.2A, a second logo 212 of a second restaurant chain appears in the area210. The second logo 212 may be superimposed on the first logo 208 inthe second image of the content item 204. The second image 206 may bealtered relative to the first image 202, for example, by altering thecontent of the first image 202 to produce the second image 206. This maybe done in various examples my modifying pixels or frames or otherencoded elements of the first image 202 to produce the second image 206.

Substitution of a content element such as the second logo 212 foranother content element such as the first logo 208 may be done for anysuitable reason. In one example, the substitution may be done to targetadvertising to specific audiences or specific viewers. The substitutionmay be made to change a product placement in a movie or other videocontent. The substitution may be made by defining one or more screenareas such as area 210 that may be digitally changed. The change may bedone either in advance or in real-time as the viewer is viewing thecontent including the advertising. When the change is done in advance,the content including the modified frames with image 206 may becommunicated to the user device 200 or another location for storage andsubsequent playback. When the change is done in real time, thesubstitution of the second logo 212 for the first logo 208 may be madeaccording to a bidding process among advertisers for the opportunity toplace a content item such as the second logo 212 in the area 210. Thebidding process may match aspects of a viewer of the content item withaspects of a product or service being advertised or marketed by theadvertiser. Selection of a particular content item to target advertisingto specific audiences or specific viewers may be based, for example, onthe advertiser's willingness to have an advertisement appear in the area210, either by paying more to appear in the area 210 or in some otherway. The bidding process may occur substantially in real time as thecontent is conveyed to the user device 200 and viewer. In otherexamples, other than substantially in real time, a user device such as amobile begins streaming a movie which is know to have a predeterminednumber of content insertion opportunities to receive advertising orother content. In such an example, bidding may begin at the time ofinitiating the streaming and if the scene is eventually streamed thenthe object is added and the winning bidder is charged for theimpression.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a system 216 for displaying a content item whiledelivering media content to a media display device such as user device200 and functioning within the communication network of FIG. 1 inaccordance with various aspects described herein. In FIG. 2B, the userdevice 200 is associated with a user 218 and may be any device fordisplaying content including media for interaction by the user 218.Interaction by the user 218 may include seeing visual content andhearing audio content, as well as any other sensory perception such asresponse to a motion detection function of the user device or a motioncreation device such as a vibrator of the user device. Interaction mayalso include manipulation of a user interface of the user device 200 tocontrol the user device 200. The manipulation of the user interface ofthe user device may occur in any suitable fashion, such actuation of atouch-sensitive display screen or one or more buttons or switches of theuser device 200, voice control of the user interface, or othertechniques that may be developed.

Moreover in other embodiments, the user 218 may have other user devicesin addition to the user device 200. The user device 200 in theillustrated embodiment includes a mobile device such as a mobiletelephone adapted for viewing content. The user device may be adaptedfor other functions as well, such as internet access and web pagebrowsing, making radiotelephone calls, etc. In addition or instead, theuser 218 may interact with content on other user devices such as atablet computer, a laptop or desktop computer, a media player, a smarttelevision, etc. The techniques described herein may be extended to thewidest range of user devices or groups of user devices.

The system 216 in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2B includes a mediacontent server 220 in communication with a media content database 222,an advertisement engine 224 in communication with an advertisementdatabase 226. In other embodiments, the system 216 may include anysuitable components in addition to or in place of those shown in FIG.2B. In typical embodiments, the user 218 and the user device 200represent one user of many users that may access the media contentserver 220 and the advertisement engine over the network 228.

The media content server 220 provides content to the network 228 foraccess by users such as the user 218. Access may include downloading anentire file or a partial file of content. Access may include streamingof content, in which the content is sent in portions from the mediacontent server 220. The media content server 220 is in datacommunication with the media content database 222 to retrieve contentand provide the content to the user device 200. Media content providedby the media content server 220 may include the widest variety ofcontent, including video content and audio content. Video content mayinclude video items such as films, television programs, animated items,for example, of any duration. Audio content may include music, voice orconversations or other captured sounds. Media content may include liveitems, such as items currently broadcast or narrowcast to an audience orrecorded items. Moreover, media content may include combinations of anyof these, such as a transmission of a prerecorded sporting event withlive voice-over commentary and music. The media content items may beconveyed over the network 228 to a single user, such as user 218, or beconveyed to an audience of users at specific network addresses or may bebroadcast to a broad audience over commercially available licensedbroadcast channels.

The media content database 222 includes memory to store content such asvideo, audio and other content items. The media content database 222 mayinclude any suitable number of disk drives and other data storage forstoring content. Moreover, the media content database 222 or the mediacontent server 220 may have access over networks such as the network 228or other networks or devices to additional content that may be availablefor retrieval and storage at the media content database 222 forcommunication by the media content server 220 to an audience.

The advertisement engine 224 operates in conjunction with theadvertisement database 226 to provide content items includingadvertisements to user devices such as the user device 200. Theadvertisement engine 224 in some embodiments operates in conjunctionwith the media content server 220 to provide the content items. Forexample, as the media content server 220 provides content to the userdevice 200, the media content server 220 may prompt the advertisementengine 224 to provide one or more advertisements or other content itemsto user devices such as the user device 200 in conjunction with thecontent. The advertisement engine 224 may retrieve the advertisement orother content item from the advertisement database 226. Theadvertisement database 226, similar to the media content database 222,may include any suitable combination of storage elements such as diskdrives to store data including content items such as advertisements. Theretrieved content item may be in the form of a data file or other datastructure containing instructions and data to cause an advertisement orother content item to be produced on the user device 200. Theadvertisement or other content item may include one or more still imagesor video images. The advertisement or other content item may includeaudio such as music, speech or a combination.

In FIG. 2B, the first image 202 displays the content item 204. In theillustrated embodiment, the content item 204 includes a plurality ofcontent placement points 227. The plurality of content placement points227 in this example includes the area 210, an area 230 and an area 232in the image 202 and an audio point 234 in which a content items may beplaced dynamically. The plurality of content placement points 227 mayinclude other defined boundaries as well, for audible, visual or othercontent item insertion.

The plurality of content placement points 227 represent contentplacement opportunities in the content item 204. As indicated, thecontent placement opportunities in this example may be visual or audiblein nature. Visual opportunities may be a portion of the screen of theuser device 200 that is prominent and part of a viewer's main attentionor may be a background portion of the screen scene. Prominence may berelative and may have many factors. In the example of FIG. 2B, area 210is in the foreground of the image 202 whereas area 230 and area 232 arein the background and are therefore less prominent to a viewer of thecontent item 204. Further, area 210 is located on or near, or otherwiseassociated with, a character who is the focus of the viewer's attention,in this example because the man is speaking. Thus, area 210 has a higherrelative prominence in the image 202. Area 230 is a relatively staticarea in the background of the image 202 while, in contrast, area 232 isa dynamic area in that the area 232 is on or associated with a movingobject, a woman in the background if the image 202. Because movement ora moving object is more likely to command a viewer's attention, in someapplications, the area 232 may have a higher relative prominence thanthe area 230. Further, the area 230 is larger, or occupies a largerportion of the image 202, than the area 232. Because of its largerrelative size, the area 230 may have a higher relative prominence thanthe area 232.

Further, content items inserted into any of the plurality of contentplacement points 227 such as area 210, area 230 and area 232, may begiven an enhanced relative prominence upon insertion into the image 202.For example, the color or appearance of the content item may be selectedto cause it to be more prominent than surrounding areas of the image202. In one example, if a content item is to be placed in a blank areathat is colored green, such as a portion of lawn, the inserted contentitem may be colored red, or given a blue background behind white text,to appear relatively more prominent against the green background. Inanother example, where a scene shown in the image 202 is substantiallydark, as a night scene, the inserted content item may be relativelybrightly illuminated to command the viewer's attention. In yet anotherexample, a content item may be presented with a dynamic sparkle ordazzle aspect to enhance its ability to attract the attention of theviewer. In yet another example, information known about a specificviewer may be used to enhance the relative prominence of a contentplacement point. For example, if it is known that a viewer attended aparticular college or university, or lives in a particular town orneighborhood, the inserted content item may be combined with a visualdepiction of that viewer-specific information. The enhancement ofrelative prominence for an inserted content item, or a content placementpoint, may be managed in any suitable way.

Further, each advertising or content placement opportunity may useadditional metadata to describe its nature and its degree of prominenceas a predictor of how much attention it may receive from a viewer. Therelative degree of prominence may relate to a relative importance of anadvertising or content placement opportunity in a scene or image. Inother embodiments, the relative importance may relate to the degree ofimportance of an advertising or content placement opportunity acrossmultiple or different scenes of the content item. A prominence score maybe calculated for each ad opportunity by the media content server andinserted as metadata for the content. A prominence score for visual adopportunities may be based on size, degree of importance to the scene,relative motion, and duration of time on screen, and other factors. Inthe example shown, for instance, scores might be as shown in thefollowing Table 1.

TABLE 1 Ad Opportunity Size Importance Motion Duration Total 1 8 10 3 1031 2 5 3 0 10 18 3 3 3 9 4 19

In Table 1, each of the visual content placement opportunities isassociated with a number shown in FIG. 2B. Thus, area 210 is representedin Table 1 by number 1; area 230 is represented in Table 1 as number 2;and area 232 is represented in Table 1 as number 3. Each visual contentplacement opportunity is given a relative prominence score for variousaspects of prominence. In this example, the aspects of prominence whichare scored include relative size of each opportunity, relativeimportance in a scene of each opportunity, relative motion of eachopportunity, and duration of each opportunity. Thus, in the example ofFIG. 2B, ad opportunity 1, for area 210, has a relatively large size inthe image 202 so it is given a size score of 2. Ad opportunity 1 furtherhas a high relative importance, since it is in the foreground of theimage 202 and associated with a character who is speaking, so it isgiven a relatively high score of 10. The ad opportunity 1 is not inmotion, so it is given a relatively low score of 3. The ad opportunity 1remains in the image 202 throughout the entire duration of the scene soit is given a relatively high duration score of 10. The other adopportunities, labeled 2 and 3 in FIG. 2B and Table 1, are scored insimilar fashion. A total score for each ad opportunity may be simpleaddition, as shown. Thus, ad opportunity 1 has a total score of 31, adopportunity 2 has a total score of 18, and ad opportunity 3 has a totalscore of 19. In other examples, the respective scores for size,importance, motion and duration may be weighted or combined in somefashion. Other features, in addition to or instead of size, importance,motion and duration.

Audio insertion opportunities may be scored similarly. Relativeprominence for audio ad insertion opportunities may be rated as peersof, or separately from, visual ad opportunities. In Table 2, audio adinsertion opportunities are added to Table 1 and are scored on factorsincluding volume of the sounds, relevance to the scene or image,musicality and duration during the scene. In this example, audio adinsertion opportunity identified as number 4 in FIG. 2B is scored 4 forvolume, 3 for relevance, 8 for musicality and 10 for duration. Otherfactors for scoring audio ad insertion opportunities may be used aswell.

TABLE 1 Ad Opportunity Size Importance Motion Duration Total 1 8 10 3 1031 2 5 3 0 10 18 3 3 3 9 4 19 Volume Relevance Musicality Duration Total4 4 3 8 10 25

In other examples, scores for audio ad insertion opportunities may bedetermined and used as with the visual ad insertion opportunities. Thus,factors for scoring an audio ad insertion opportunity may include arelative importance of sound to a scene or image, apparent motion of asound in the sound design for a scene, or duration of the sound or audioclip during a scene. The result is that an audio ad from theadvertisement database is inserted, for instance, as background audio.In examples, this may be a product jingle, prerecorded audio thatcontains dialogue including a product name, or an artificialintelligence- or machine learning-generated audio dialogue that maycontain, for instance, a product name or some known information aboutthe viewer (as knowingly shared by the viewer), such as the name of thecollege the viewer attended.

As indicated, the system 216 may use artificial intelligence or machinelearning, or a combination of these, to generate alternative visual oraudible content items for insertion in content placement opportunities,either visual or audible. For example, a machine learning algorithm maybe used to generate and insert dialogue from a character to include, forinstance, a product name. This may be readily extended to other examplesas well.

In addition or instead, an operator of the media content server 220 maydesire to modify the selected content item for any suitable reason byinserting particular content items, rather than advertisements, in theidentified content placement opportunities. In one example, therequested content item may be targeted to language learners and acontent placement opportunity may include inserting dialog in aparticular language selected for particular viewers choosing to learn aparticular language. Any other suitable reason for modifying visual,audible and other aspects of a requested content item may prompt the useof content placement opportunities in the requested content item.

Any number of means may be used to determine preferences for anindividual viewer and choosing the most appropriate ads to insert. Thedegree of prominence to be used for each ad may also include data froman advertisement engine, which may include relative levels thatadvertisers are willing to pay for their ads to be presented. Forexample, the highest paying advertiser whose ad is a match for theuser's preference profile may be presented in Ad Opportunity 1 (the mostprominent one). Accordingly, other opportunities are filled, and thecontent is presented with the ads inserted.

Each of the plurality of content placement points 227, including area210, area 230 and area 232, may be defined by a spatial location on theimage 202 and a temporal location in the content item 204. Spatiallocations may be defined in any suitable way, such as pixel location onthe image 202, displacement from a defined origin, etc. Temporallocations may be similarly defined in any suitable fashion, such asstart and stop times from a defined origin time of the content item, astart time plus a duration, etc. The media content may contain metadatasuch as timestamp tags that are used to demark when advertising or othercontent placement opportunities occur. Visual content placement may bedone in any suitable fashion, such as by superimposing one visual itemover a preexisting visual item in the image 202, such as substitution ofthe second logo 212 for the first logo 208 in the image 202. In anotherexample, visual content placement may be done by superimposing a contentitem in a relatively blank space of the image 202, such as the area 230.Instead of superimposition, any suitable way of inserting visual contentinto the image 202 may be used. Any of the plurality of contentplacement points 227, including area 210, area 230 and area 232, may beused for insertion of a visual content item such as an advertisement.

Audible content placement opportunities may include background music orbackground dialogue. For a content item that represents anadvertisement, audible content may be an advertiser's jingle or othersong portion, or other audio component that provokes brandidentification among listeners. In another example, an audible contentitem may include spoken words which may, for example, mention a productor brand by name in a way to attract the viewer's attention.

Similar to visual content items, audible content items and audio contentpoints such as audio point 234 may be given an enhanced relativeprominence. For example, an inserted content item at audio point may bepresented at a higher volume relative to other sounds or audible contentin a scene. In another example, an inserted content item at audio point234 may be combined with another audible item calculated to captureaudience attention, such as a tone or sound or portion of a well-knownsong. In yet another example, information known about a specificaudience member may be used to enhance the relative prominence of anaudible content placement item at, for example, audio point 234. Forexample, if it is known that an audience member attended a particularcollege or university, or lives in a particular town or neighborhood,the inserted content item may be a spoken mention of the college name orneighborhood, or a portion of the college fight song or alma mater. Theenhancement of relative prominence for an audible inserted content item,or audible content placement point, may be managed in any suitable way.

Audible content placement points such as audio point 234 may be definedin any suitable manner. In one example, an audible content placementpoint may be defined by a start time and stop time, or a start time plusa duration, from a predefined origin time for the content item 204. Theaudible content placement points such as audio point 234 may be definedby a spatial location as well in some audio programming. For example, ifa soundtrack for the content item 204 is in stereo, or includes enhancedsonic features, an audio content placement point such as audio point 234may be inserted primarily in a left channel or a right channel of astereo or multi-channel soundtrack, or may be made to vary or movebetween the channels in a dynamic fashion.

One way the human hearing mechanism (including the ears, nerves andbrain processing, subsequently referred to as “the ear”) detectsplacement of a speaker (or source of sound) is by detecting the relativevolume perceived by the listener's two ears. A sound whose volume isstronger in the left ear appears to be coming from a position to theleft of the listener. This stereo effect is used advantageously innearly all modern music reproduction systems and allows the creator ofthe music to position instruments left-to-right across the listener'svirtual sound field. Another way the placement of a sound source isdetermined is by relative volume. A signal of lower volume soundsfarther away than a signal of higher volume. Combined with the stereoeffect, volume settings allow for, for example, near-left or far-rightpositioning of a sound source. A third way the human ear detects theposition of a signal is a change in frequencies heard as a sound movesfrom the front of a listener's ear, where most frequencies are receivedwith equal strength, to a position behind the listener's ear, where thehigher frequencies are attenuated, and the lower frequencies seem moreapparent. In a virtual environment, this effect, combined with adecrease in volume and left-right positioning, may give the listener theimpression that a sound source has moved behind the listener, even witha two-channel stereo system. Additionally, changes to delay and echo mayheighten this effect. Further, other parameter changes may provide thesensation that one participant is located behind another participant.Other enhancements or modifications may be made as well. The contents ofU.S. Pat. No. 8,085,920 B1, issued Dec. 27, 2011, are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety. The sound design of the contentitem 204 may be adapted or modified to define audio content placementpoints such as audio point 234.

The system 216 may be configured to deliver content items such ascontent item 204 and placeable content items to the user device 200. Themedia content server 220 may receive over the network 228 a request fora content item, such as content item 204.

In an embodiment, the system 216 determines preferences of a viewer suchas user 218 for targeting advertisements and other content to theviewer. FIG. 2C depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method 240 inaccordance with various aspects described herein. The method 240 may beperformed by a processing system including a processor and memory of,for example, the media content server 220 of FIG. 2B. In otherembodiments, other components of a system may perform the method 240,either locally or in conjunction with other components accessible over anetwork such as network 228. In one example, some or all of theoperations of method 240 may be performed by the user device 200 or by asmart television or set top box or other media content device associatedwith a viewing device. The method begins at block 242.

At block 244, the method 240 includes an operation of receiving arequest for a content item. The request may originate at a user devicesuch as user device 200, FIG. 2B, or any other source. For example, auser such as user 218 of user device 200 may operate a user interface ofthe user device 200 to locate and select a content item of interest,such as a film or television program or stored video item. The userinterface may present a menu of viewing options, for example, byaccessing over the network 228 the media content server 220. The user218 selects the content item of interest using the menu and theselection is communicated over the network 228 as a request for thecontent item to the media content server 220. The request for thecontent item may include any suitable information, such asidentification information for the content item, identificationinformation for the user device 200, identification information for theuser 218, identification information for an account of the user 218 andidentification information for other viewers present with the user 218who will view the requested content item.

At block 246, the method 240 includes an operation to determine ifviewers such as the user 218 have agreed to use of their personal orconfidential information or data in a system and process for providingcontent. This operation may be important to protect and keepconfidential such information for viewers who are sensitive about theuse of such information. Such an agreement may be provided by the useragreeing to the use of confidential information for purposes such asproviding content items and the agreement may be recorded at a networklocation accessible by operations of the method 240. If the user 218 orviewers present with the user, have not opted in to the service, theoperation ends at block 248. In such a case, the requested content itemwill be provided to the user device without modification.

If the viewers or user have opted in to the service, at block 250, themethod 240 includes an operation of accessing the requested contentitem. In one example, in the system 216 of FIG. 2B, the media contentserver 220 access the media content database 222 to locate the requestedcontent item. If the media content database 222 does not already storethe requested content item, the media content server 220 may accessother locations to obtain the requested content item.

At block 252, the method 240 includes an operation to identify insertionopportunities in the requested content item. In one example, therequested content item includes a number of scenes, such as a sceneincluding images 202, 206 of FIG. 2A. In each respective scene, one ormore content placement opportunities is identified. For each respectivecontent placement opportunity of the one or more content placementopportunities, a prominence score is determined. Examples of prominencescores are described in conjunction with Table 1 and Table 2 and FIG.2B. In some embodiments, content placement opportunities may includeopportunities to insert advertisements for consumption by viewers of theselected content items. The advertisements and other content items mayinclude visible content such as still images, video segments, andothers. The advertisements and other content items may also includeaudible content items such as background sounds, dialog of characters,background dialog, and others. An operator of the media content server220 may provide a paid service of providing advertisements to viewersfor advertisers.

At block 254, the method 240 includes an operation of selecting contentitems such as advertisements for the scene. Particular content items maybe chosen for insertion into the content placement opportunities for anysuitable reason. Block 254 in some embodiments may include steps ofaccessing user data 256 and accessing advertiser data 258.

In order to target advertising to viewers of the selected content item,the method 240 includes accessing user data 256. The user data 256 mayinclude any information provided by users or other viewers orinformation collected about the viewers or users. The user data 256 maybe used to develop a preference profile for the user. The preferenceprofile includes information about likes and desires and interests ofthe user, as well as dislikes of the user. The preference profile forthe user may be developed and modified over time as more informationabout the user is gathered and stored.

For example, a user's previous content selections from the media contentserver 220 may be retrieved. In another example, the user's previouspurchase history of items, including media content items and otheritems, from online sources or in other retail locations, may beretrieved. Other information about the user may be retrieved as well,including geographic information, demographic information, psychographicinformation and behavioral information of the user or other viewers ofthe requested media content. The media content server 220 may haveaccess to such information at the media content database 222. In otherexamples, the media content server 220 may have access over networkssuch as the network 228 to other stored information, including the notedinformation, about the user or viewers. In still other examples, themedia content server 220 may access particular information of the useror viewers and operate to draw inferences therefrom about interests ofthe user or viewers. For example, a machine learning algorithm may beused to develop a model for the user and user interests and to makepredictions about user preferences. The predictions and all otherinformation about the user and other viewers may be used to selectadvertising or other content items at block 254. In some examples, theuser may be associated with one or more advertising targeting segments.Such segment information may be accessed as well at block 254.

Also at block 254, the method may include accessing advertiser data 258.In one example, the advertisement data 258 may be received from theadvertisement database 226 or the advertisement engine 224, or acombination of these. Advertiser data 258 may be received fromrespective advertisers about advertisements of the advertiser to beplaced or included in content placement opportunities of the requestedcontent item. Advertiser data 258 may include data defining content andadvertisements including data files of visual advertising components anysuitable format such as JPEG, MPEG or others. The advertiser data 258may also include data defining content and advertisements including datafiles of audible advertising components in any suitable format, such as.wav, .aac and others. Further, the advertiser data 258 may includetargeting information such as segments targeted by the advertiser for aparticular product or campaign. Further, the advertiser data 258 mayinclude information defining compensation the advertiser is willing topay, such as a money amount, for placement of a particular advertisementin a content placement opportunity of the requested content item.

The advertiser data 258 may be used to determine which advertisement isselected for placement in a content placement opportunity of therequested content item. In that regard, information about one or moreadvertisements or advertisers from the advertiser data 258 may becompared with information about the user or viewers from the user data256 at block 254. Based on the comparison, one or more advertisementsare selected for presentation in content placement opportunities of thescene of the requested content item.

Still further, the advertiser data 258 may include prominenceinformation defining a degree of prominence to be used for eachadvertisement or content item of an advertiser. The advertiser mayspecify the respective prominence information for a respectiveadvertisement. The degree of prominence may be expressed in any suitablemanner, such as an advertiser's prominence designator or prominencescore. The prominence designator or prominence score may be used todetermine how an advertisement should be presented or whichadvertisement should be provided.

In some embodiments, block 254 includes operations of determining, foreach respective content placement opportunity of the content item, arespective relative prominence score. In an example, determining therespective relative prominence score may include determining therelative prominence score based on a relative importance in a scene ofthe respective content placement opportunity. When the content item isdelivered to the user device, content items are selected to populate thecontent placement opportunities. Selecting the content items, oradvertisements in some examples, may include selecting a respectivecontent item for each respective content placement opportunity accordingto the respective relative prominence score for the respective contentplacement opportunity. For a more prominent content placementopportunity, a more prominent advertisement may be selected. In someexamples, relative prominence of an advertisement may be determined byan amount an advertiser is willing to pay to have the advertiser'sadvertisement placed in that content placement opportunity.

As noted, the user data 256 may be used to develop a preference profilefor the user. Similarly, the advertiser data 258 may be used to developand advertisement profile. The advertisement profile may form anindication of the type of viewers or consumers an advertiser istargeting for the advertisements of the advertiser. The advertisementprofile may be for the advertiser, for individual advertisements, alsoreferred to as campaigns or line items, or for groups of advertisements.The preference profile may be matched against advertisement profiles toselect one or more advertisements suitable to show to the user.

The profile matching may be done in any suitable manner. In one example,the advertisement profile includes definitions of a number of audiencesegments. The segments identify characteristics of viewers of interestto the advertisers, such as Interested in Purchasing a New Car, NewParent, and Interested in Vacations to Tropical Destinations. Similarly,based on activities of the user, including purchases, viewing patterns,online activity, and information such as demographic, geographic,psychographic and behavioral information, the user may be placed into aplurality of audience segments. For example, if the viewer has requestedand watched a television program about Hawaiian resort vacations, theview may be placed in the segment Interested in Vacations to TropicalDestinations. Similarly, if the user has purchased new baby clothes andother new baby items online, the user may be placed in the segment NewParent. To match the user's preference profile with the advertiser'sadvertisement profile then requires finding common segments among thetwo. Any other suitable method of matching users and advertisements maybe used.

The prominence information may be used to select which advertisement isselected for a particular content placement opportunity or how theadvertisement is presented. The prominence information for anadvertisement may include relative levels that advertisers are willingto pay for their ads to be presented at content placement opportunitiesin the requested media content item. In one embodiment, advertisers maysubmit bids for advertisement placement, where each bid corresponds to adesired relative prominence in a scene. The advertiser may bid $1.00 tobe placed in the most prominent location in a scene, $0.50 for thesecond most prominent location in the scene, $0.30 for the third mostprominent location, etc. Relative prominence of locations may bedetermined based on a prominence score as illustrated in Table 1 andTable 2, for example. The bid amounts may be considered respectiveprominence information of the advertisers associated with theadvertisements.

In an embodiment, an ad call is received to fill a group of ad placementopportunities is received. Each ad placement opportunity has arespective relative prominence as illustrated, for example, in FIG. 2B.In response to the ad call for the scene, an auction may be conducted,such as by the advertisement server, to determine which advertisementsshould be selected to fill the ad calls for the scene. For example, thehighest paying advertiser whose ad is a match for the user's preferenceprofile may be presented in Ad Opportunity 1, the most prominentadvertisement opportunity in the example of FIG. 2B. Other contentplacement opportunities are filled according to bid amounts and therequested content item is presented with the ads inserted.

Further, the prominence information may be used to adjust the relativeprominence of presentation of an advertisement other content item. Forexample, if an advertiser desires heightened prominence for an audiocontent item, the volume of the content item, or its duration, may beincreased when the content item is inserted in the requested contentitem. In another embodiment, if the advertiser pays a higher fee forheightened prominence, a visual item may be modified to cause it to bemore visually arresting, such as with added dazzle or brighter colors orcolors selected with high contrast to background colors. Other types ofprominence modification or adaptation may be performed as well.

At block 260, the method 240 includes an operation of presenting therequested content item in response to the request received at block 244.The requested content item, with content items selected at block 254, isprovided in any suitable manner. For example, the requested content itemmay be prepared by the media content server 220 in full, with theselected content items inserted at each content placement opportunity,and stored, for example, at the media content database 222. The preparedcontent item may then be communicated in full, as an entire file, to theuser device 200.

In another example, the prepared content item may be streamed to theuser device 200, with selected portions of video content includinginserted content items, sent in sequence. In such an embodiment, as thevideo content is being presented at the user device, the user device orother playback device may detect a content placement opportunity. Inresponse, the user device will generate an ad call. The media contentserver or the advertisement server will accordingly receive a call for acontent item from the display device while delivering the media contentover the network to the display device. The call for the content itemcorresponds to a viewing opportunity in the media content. Responsive tothe ad call, the media content server or advertisement server maydetermine a respective relative prominence score for the viewingopportunity and select a content item or advertisement for the viewingopportunity according to the respective relative prominence score forthe viewing opportunity. Based on relative prominence, the media contentserver may provide the selected content item to the display device. Inthis embodiment, each content placement opportunity is filled inresponse to a series of ad calls. This embodiment may reduce dataprocessing and storage requirements of the media content server andbetter regulate traffic on the network 228 by only sending content tothe user device 200 when required.

In another example, the operations of block 250, block 252, block 254and block 260 may be performed in a loop. In such an embodiment, therequested content item is processed in portions, such as scene by scene,to identify ad insertion opportunities of each processed scene, block252, and to select ads for the processed scene, block 254, and thenprovide the content including the processed scene to the user device200. Operations are then repeated for a next scene. In this manner, theads are inserted into the requested content on essentially a real timebasis, as the content is retrieved and presented to the user. Such anembodiment may reduce processing time and storage requirements of themedia content server 220.

The content items delivered at block 260 may delivered with any suitabledata or other information. In one embodiment, in order to ensurereliable placement of the content items or advertisements in the mediaconvent, the media content may be delivered with a content tag. Thecontent tag includes, for example, a time stamp and metadata. Themetadata may include a prominence indicator. The prominence indicatormay provide an indication of how prominently the content item associatedwith the content tag should be displayed. The metadata of the contenttag may include any other useful information for organizing andcontrolling how the content or advertisement is presented, visually oraudibly. The method ends at block 262.

While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the respectiveprocesses are shown and described as a series of blocks in FIG. 2C, itis to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter isnot limited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks may occur indifferent orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from what isdepicted and described herein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks maybe required to implement the methods described herein.

FIG. 2D is a block diagram showing user device 200 displaying image 206of content item 204 in which advertisements have been inserted in thecontent delivery opportunities of the content item 204. By operation ofthe method 240 of FIG. 2C, for example, or by any other suitableoperation, suitable ads have been selected and placed with relativeprominence in the image 206. Thus, second logo 212 has been placed inarea 210 with a highest relative prominence. The second logo 212 arearea 210 has a highly prominent position because, in this example, it isin the foreground of the image 206 and it is associated with a maincharacter. In fact, in this example, the main character speaking in thescene, heightening the prominence of the area 210 and second logo 212and the second logo 212 is placed on clothing of the character, inintimate association with him.

A third logo 264 has been placed in area 230 of the image 206. This maybe considered, in this example, to be an area of relatively lowprominence. First, the area 230 and the third logo 264 are located inthe deep background of the image 202. Second, the area 230 and the thirdlogo 264 are static and not in motion. Third, the area 230 and the thirdlogo 264 are not associated with the characters in any obvious way.

A fourth logo 266 has been placed in area 232 of the image 206. This maybe considered, in this example, to be an area of relatively moderateprominence, less prominent in the scene and image 206 than are 210 butmore prominent than are 230. First, the area 232 and the fourth logo 266are in the mid-background of the scene. Second, the area 232 and thefourth logo 266, while not associated with one of the two maincharacters of the scene are in motion and attached to a backgroundcharacter. The factor of motion enhances the relative prominence of thearea 232 and the fourth logo 266.

Audible advertisements may similarly be selected and placed inaccordance with the method 240 of FIG. 2C. The prominence of audibleadvertisements may be matched with relative prominence of the contentplacement opportunity associated with the sound design of the scenedepicted in image 206. If the primary characters in the image 206 aretalking in the scene, the background sound may be of reduced prominence.However, if an advertising jingle is selected as the content item to beplaced as the background audio for the scene, the content item of theadvertising jingle may have heightened prominence in the scene.Moreover, if an advertising jingle or other audible content item isselect to correlate with a visible content item such as one of thesecond logo 212, the third logo 264 or the fourth logo 266, the relativeprominence of both the audible content item and the visible content itemmay be enhanced. The system and method in accordance with variousaspects disclosed herein may be adapted to particular circumstances tomodulate relative prominence of content items such as the second logo212, the third logo 264 or the fourth logo 266 and an audible contentitem placed in a scene including image 206 of content item 204

FIG. 2E is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a system 216 for displaying a content item 204 whiledelivering media content to a media display device and functioningwithin the communication network of FIG. 1 in accordance with variousaspects described herein. In the embodiment of FIG. 2E, the mediadisplay device is implemented in an environment 270 for viewing by anaudience of several or many individuals 272. One example of anenvironment 270 is a theater when the content item 204 is displayed on ascreen such as by projection on a movie screen or by display on arelatively large electronic display.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2E, content placement opportunities of thecontent item 204 have been filled with content items such asadvertisements, for example in accordance with the method 240 of FIG.2C. Thus, in the example of FIG. 2E, second logo 212 has been placed inarea 210; fifth logo 268 has been placed in area 232; and sixth logo 269has been placed in area 232. Suitable audible content has been providedas background audio at audio point 234.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2E, each individual 272 of the audience has auser device 200. However, instead of displaying content item 204 on theuser device 200, each user provides inputs and other information to thesystem 216. For example, each respective user device 200 may communicatewith the media content server 220 and the advertisement engine 224 toprovide information about each respective individual 272 associated withthe respective user device 200. Such information may includeidentification information for the individual 272 or the user device 200or account associated with the individual. Such information may includean opt-in indicator for the individual 272 to share the individual'sconfidential information. Such information may include or be used todetermine from the advertisement engine 224, individual preferenceinformation for each respective individual 272. In this manner, themethod 240 of FIG. 2C can be modified to provide advertisements andother content items for consumption by the individuals 272 in theenvironment 270. Consumption of advertisements includes viewing visibleadvertisements and hearing audible advertisements.

In this embodiment, the media content server 220 may develop anaggregate audience score based on respective preference profiles of theindividuals 272. This may be done in any suitable fashion, such as byaveraging or otherwise aggregating user interests. The media contentserver 220 may then use the aggregate audience score to determine anaggregate preference profile of the audience as a whole. The aggregateaudience score, or the aggregate preference profile, may be used by themedia content server 220 to make determinations of which ads to insertand at what level of prominence. This might occur, for instance, in amovie theater or other environment 270.

The user devices 200 may further be used to collect audience feedback orother information from individuals 272 of the audience. For example,each user device 200 may be equipped with an application, or app, whichcollects information from the user device 200 and communicates theinformation over the network 228 to the media content server 220 and theadvertisement engine 224. The viewers may use the app on theirrespective user device 200, for example, to vote for which products tosee in the movie.

In another embodiment, the audience of individuals 272 may act as acollective crowd before the movie begins to influence the number of adsthat get inserted. In an example, if the audience contributes an amountto a charity by appropriate actuation of the app on their user device200, no ads or a reduced number of ads may be inserted. The mediacontent server 220 may prompt this interaction by individuals 272,collect the responses and respond accordingly. Other activities andmodifications may be implemented using the ability to aggregate audienceinformation and responses by the media content server 220 andadvertising engine 224.

Referring now to FIG. 3 , a block diagram is shown illustrating anexample, non-limiting embodiment of a virtualized communication network300 in accordance with various aspects described herein. In particular avirtualized communication network is presented that can be used toimplement some or all of the subsystems and functions of communicationnetwork 100, the subsystems and functions of system 216, and method 240presented in FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E and 3 . For example,virtualized communication network 300 can facilitate in whole or in partproviding a content item such as a video or other media content item tovirtual network elements (VNEs) 330, 332, 334, wherein the content itemincludes a plurality of content placement opportunities which each havea relative prominence in a scene or portion of the content item, andproviding advertisements or other content items according to desiredprominence so that, for example, an advertisement having a highestdesired prominence by an advertiser is placed most prominently in thecontent item.

In particular, a cloud networking architecture is shown that leveragescloud technologies and supports rapid innovation and scalability via atransport layer 350, a virtualized network function cloud 325 and/or oneor more cloud computing environments 375. In various embodiments, thiscloud networking architecture is an open architecture that leveragesapplication programming interfaces (APIs); reduces complexity fromservices and operations; supports more nimble business models; andrapidly and seamlessly scales to meet evolving customer requirementsincluding traffic growth, diversity of traffic types, and diversity ofperformance and reliability expectations.

In contrast to traditional network elements—which are typicallyintegrated to perform a single function, the virtualized communicationnetwork employs virtual network elements (VNEs) 330, 332, 334, etc. thatperform some or all of the functions of network elements 150, 152, 154,156, etc. For example, the network architecture can provide a substrateof networking capability, often called Network Function VirtualizationInfrastructure (NFVI) or simply infrastructure that is capable of beingdirected with software and Software Defined Networking (SDN) protocolsto perform a broad variety of network functions and services. Thisinfrastructure can include several types of substrates. The most typicaltype of substrate being servers that support Network FunctionVirtualization (NFV), followed by packet forwarding capabilities basedon generic computing resources, with specialized network technologiesbrought to bear when general-purpose processors or general-purposeintegrated circuit devices offered by merchants (referred to herein asmerchant silicon) are not appropriate. In this case, communicationservices can be implemented as cloud-centric workloads.

As an example, a traditional network element 150 (shown in FIG. 1 ),such as an edge router can be implemented via a VNE 330 composed of NFVsoftware modules, merchant silicon, and associated controllers. Thesoftware can be written so that increasing workload consumes incrementalresources from a common resource pool, and moreover so that it'selastic: so the resources are only consumed when needed. In a similarfashion, other network elements such as other routers, switches, edgecaches, and middle boxes are instantiated from the common resource pool.Such sharing of infrastructure across a broad set of uses makes planningand growing infrastructure easier to manage.

In an embodiment, the transport layer 350 includes fiber, cable, wiredand/or wireless transport elements, network elements and interfaces toprovide broadband access 110, wireless access 120, voice access 130,media access 140 and/or access to content sources 175 for distributionof content to any or all of the access technologies. In particular, insome cases a network element needs to be positioned at a specific place,and this allows for less sharing of common infrastructure. Other times,the network elements have specific physical layer adapters that cannotbe abstracted or virtualized and might require special DSP code andanalog front-ends (AFEs) that do not lend themselves to implementationas VNEs 330, 332 or 334. These network elements can be included intransport layer 350.

The virtualized network function cloud 325 interfaces with the transportlayer 350 to provide the VNEs 330, 332, 334, etc. to provide specificNFVs. In particular, the virtualized network function cloud 325leverages cloud operations, applications, and architectures to supportnetworking workloads. The virtualized network elements 330, 332 and 334can employ network function software that provides either a one-for-onemapping of traditional network element function or alternately somecombination of network functions designed for cloud computing. Forexample, VNEs 330, 332 and 334 can include route reflectors, domain namesystem (DNS) servers, and dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP)servers, system architecture evolution (SAE) and/or mobility managemententity (MME) gateways, broadband network gateways, IP edge routers forIP-VPN, Ethernet and other services, load balancers, distributers andother network elements. Because these elements don't typically need toforward large amounts of traffic, their workload can be distributedacross a number of servers—each of which adds a portion of thecapability, and overall which creates an elastic function with higheravailability than its former monolithic version. These virtual networkelements 330, 332, 334, etc. can be instantiated and managed using anorchestration approach similar to those used in cloud compute services.

The cloud computing environments 375 can interface with the virtualizednetwork function cloud 325 via APIs that expose functional capabilitiesof the VNEs 330, 332, 334, etc. to provide the flexible and expandedcapabilities to the virtualized network function cloud 325. Inparticular, network workloads may have applications distributed acrossthe virtualized network function cloud 325 and cloud computingenvironment 375 and in the commercial cloud or might simply orchestrateworkloads supported entirely in NFV infrastructure from thesethird-party locations.

Turning now to FIG. 4 , there is illustrated a block diagram of acomputing environment in accordance with various aspects describedherein. In order to provide additional context for various embodimentsof the embodiments described herein, FIG. 4 and the following discussionare intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitablecomputing environment 400 in which the various embodiments of thesubject disclosure can be implemented. In particular, computingenvironment 400 can be used in the implementation of network elements150, 152, 154, 156, access terminal 112, base station or access point122, switching device 132, media terminal 142, and/or VNEs 330, 332,334, etc. Each of these devices can be implemented viacomputer-executable instructions that can run on one or more computers,and/or in combination with other program modules and/or as a combinationof hardware and software. For example, computing environment 400 canfacilitate in whole or in part providing a content item such as a videoor other media content item to implementations of audio/video displaydevices 144, data terminals 114, or other network elements 150, 152,154, 156, wherein the content item includes a plurality of contentplacement opportunities which each have a relative prominence in a sceneor portion of the content item, and providing advertisements or othercontent items according to desired prominence so that, for example, anadvertisement having a highest desired prominence by an advertiser isplaced most prominently in the content item.

Generally, program modules comprise routines, programs, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the methods can be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, comprising single-processor or multiprocessor computersystems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personalcomputers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can beoperatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

As used herein, a processing circuit includes one or more processors aswell as other application specific circuits such as an applicationspecific integrated circuit, digital logic circuit, state machine,programmable gate array or other circuit that processes input signals ordata and that produces output signals or data in response thereto. Itshould be noted that while any functions and features described hereinin association with the operation of a processor could likewise beperformed by a processing circuit.

The illustrated embodiments of the embodiments herein can be alsopracticed in distributed computing environments where certain tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Computing devices typically comprise a variety of media, which cancomprise computer-readable storage media and/or communications media,which two terms are used herein differently from one another as follows.Computer-readable storage media can be any available storage media thatcan be accessed by the computer and comprises both volatile andnonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example,and not limitation, computer-readable storage media can be implementedin connection with any method or technology for storage of informationsuch as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structured dataor unstructured data.

Computer-readable storage media can comprise, but are not limited to,random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electricallyerasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or othermemory technology, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digitalversatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devicesor other tangible and/or non-transitory media which can be used to storedesired information. In this regard, the terms “tangible” or“non-transitory” herein as applied to storage, memory orcomputer-readable media, are to be understood to exclude onlypropagating transitory signals per se as modifiers and do not relinquishrights to all standard storage, memory or computer-readable media thatare not only propagating transitory signals per se.

Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one or more local orremote computing devices, e.g., via access requests, queries or otherdata retrieval protocols, for a variety of operations with respect tothe information stored by the medium.

Communications media typically embody computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructureddata in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrierwave or other transport mechanism, and comprises any informationdelivery or transport media. The term “modulated data signal” or signalsrefers to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set orchanged in such a manner as to encode information in one or moresignals. By way of example, and not limitation, communication mediacomprise wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wiredconnection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and otherwireless media.

With reference again to FIG. 4 , the example environment can comprise acomputer 402, the computer 402 comprising a processing unit 404, asystem memory 406 and a system bus 408. The system bus 408 couplessystem components including, but not limited to, the system memory 406to the processing unit 404. The processing unit 404 can be any ofvarious commercially available processors. Dual microprocessors andother multiprocessor architectures can also be employed as theprocessing unit 404.

The system bus 408 can be any of several types of bus structure that canfurther interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memorycontroller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety ofcommercially available bus architectures. The system memory 406comprises ROM 410 and RAM 412. A basic input/output system (BIOS) can bestored in a non-volatile memory such as ROM, erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM), EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basic routines thathelp to transfer information between elements within the computer 402,such as during startup. The RAM 412 can also comprise a high-speed RAMsuch as static RAM for caching data.

The computer 402 further comprises an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 414(e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal HDD 414 can also be configured forexternal use in a suitable chassis (not shown), a magnetic floppy diskdrive (FDD) 416, (e.g., to read from or write to a removable diskette418) and an optical disk drive 420, (e.g., reading a CD-ROM disk 422 or,to read from or write to other high capacity optical media such as theDVD). The HDD 414, magnetic FDD 416 and optical disk drive 420 can beconnected to the system bus 408 by a hard disk drive interface 424, amagnetic disk drive interface 426 and an optical drive interface 428,respectively. The hard disk drive interface 424 for external driveimplementations comprises at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus(USB) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394interface technologies. Other external drive connection technologies arewithin contemplation of the embodiments described herein.

The drives and their associated computer-readable storage media providenonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executableinstructions, and so forth. For the computer 402, the drives and storagemedia accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format.Although the description of computer-readable storage media above refersto a hard disk drive (HDD), a removable magnetic diskette, and aremovable optical media such as a CD or DVD, it should be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that other types of storage media which arereadable by a computer, such as zip drives, magnetic cassettes, flashmemory cards, cartridges, and the like, can also be used in the exampleoperating environment, and further, that any such storage media cancontain computer-executable instructions for performing the methodsdescribed herein.

A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM 412,comprising an operating system 430, one or more application programs432, other program modules 434 and program data 436. All or portions ofthe operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also becached in the RAM 412. The systems and methods described herein can beimplemented utilizing various commercially available operating systemsor combinations of operating systems.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 402 throughone or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard 438 and apointing device, such as a mouse 440. Other input devices (not shown)can comprise a microphone, an infrared (IR) remote control, a joystick,a game pad, a stylus pen, touch screen or the like. These and otherinput devices are often connected to the processing unit 404 through aninput device interface 442 that can be coupled to the system bus 408,but can be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, anIEEE 1394 serial port, a game port, a universal serial bus (USB) port,an IR interface, etc.

A monitor 444 or other type of display device can be also connected tothe system bus 408 via an interface, such as a video adapter 446. Itwill also be appreciated that in alternative embodiments, a monitor 444can also be any display device (e.g., another computer having a display,a smart phone, a tablet computer, etc.) for receiving displayinformation associated with computer 402 via any communication means,including via the Internet and cloud-based networks. In addition to themonitor 444, a computer typically comprises other peripheral outputdevices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

The computer 402 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections via wired and/or wireless communications to one or moreremote computers, such as a remote computer(s) 448. The remotecomputer(s) 448 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, apersonal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainmentappliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typicallycomprises many or all of the elements described relative to the computer402, although, for purposes of brevity, only a remote memory/storagedevice 450 is illustrated. The logical connections depicted comprisewired/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN) 452 and/orlarger networks, e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 454. Such LAN and WANnetworking environments are commonplace in offices and companies, andfacilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all ofwhich can connect to a global communications network, e.g., theInternet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 402 can beconnected to the LAN 452 through a wired and/or wireless communicationnetwork interface or adapter 456. The adapter 456 can facilitate wiredor wireless communication to the LAN 452, which can also comprise awireless AP disposed thereon for communicating with the adapter 456.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 402 can comprisea modem 458 or can be connected to a communications server on the WAN454 or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN 454,such as by way of the Internet. The modem 458, which can be internal orexternal and a wired or wireless device, can be connected to the systembus 408 via the input device interface 442. In a networked environment,program modules depicted relative to the computer 402 or portionsthereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device 450. It willbe appreciated that the network connections shown are example and othermeans of establishing a communications link between the computers can beused.

The computer 402 can be operable to communicate with any wirelessdevices or entities operatively disposed in wireless communication,e.g., a printer, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portabledata assistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment orlocation associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk,news stand, restroom), and telephone. This can comprise WirelessFidelity (Wi-Fi) and BLUETOOTH® wireless technologies. Thus, thecommunication can be a predefined structure as with a conventionalnetwork or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.

Wi-Fi can allow connection to the Internet from a couch at home, a bedin a hotel room or a conference room at work, without wires. Wi-Fi is awireless technology similar to that used in a cell phone that enablessuch devices, e.g., computers, to send and receive data indoors and out;anywhere within the range of a base station. Wi-Fi networks use radiotechnologies called IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, n, ac, ag, etc.) to providesecure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can beused to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wirednetworks (which can use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Fi networks operatein the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands for example or with productsthat contain both bands (dual band), so the networks can providereal-world performance similar to the basic 10BaseT wired Ethernetnetworks used in many offices.

Turning now to FIG. 5 , an embodiment 500 of a mobile network platform510 is shown that is an example of network elements 150, 152, 154, 156,and/or VNEs 330, 332, 334, etc. For example, platform 510 can facilitatein whole or in part providing a content item such as a video or othermedia content item to user devices such as user device 200 of FIG. 2B,wherein the content item includes a plurality of content placementopportunities which each have a relative prominence in a scene orportion of the content item, and providing advertisements or othercontent items according to desired prominence so that, for example, anadvertisement having a highest desired prominence by an advertiser isplaced most prominently in the content item.

In one or more embodiments, the mobile network platform 510 can generateand receive signals transmitted and received by base stations or accesspoints such as base station or access point 122. Generally, mobilenetwork platform 510 can comprise components, e.g., nodes, gateways,interfaces, servers, or disparate platforms, that facilitate bothpacket-switched (PS) (e.g., internet protocol (IP), frame relay,asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)) and circuit-switched (CS) traffic(e.g., voice and data), as well as control generation for networkedwireless telecommunication. As a non-limiting example, mobile networkplatform 510 can be included in telecommunications carrier networks andcan be considered carrier-side components as discussed elsewhere herein.Mobile network platform 510 comprises CS gateway node(s) 512 which caninterface CS traffic received from legacy networks like telephonynetwork(s) 540 (e.g., public switched telephone network (PSTN), orpublic land mobile network (PLMN)) or a signaling system #7 (SS7)network 560. CS gateway node(s) 512 can authorize and authenticatetraffic (e.g., voice) arising from such networks. Additionally, CSgateway node(s) 512 can access mobility, or roaming, data generatedthrough SS7 network 560; for instance, mobility data stored in a visitedlocation register (VLR), which can reside in memory 530. Moreover, CSgateway node(s) 512 interfaces CS-based traffic and signaling and PSgateway node(s) 518. As an example, in a 3GPP UMTS network, CS gatewaynode(s) 512 can be realized at least in part in gateway GPRS supportnode(s) (GGSN). It should be appreciated that functionality and specificoperation of CS gateway node(s) 512, PS gateway node(s) 518, and servingnode(s) 516, is provided and dictated by radio technologies utilized bymobile network platform 510 for telecommunication over a radio accessnetwork 520 with other devices, such as a radiotelephone 575.

In addition to receiving and processing CS-switched traffic andsignaling, PS gateway node(s) 518 can authorize and authenticatePS-based data sessions with served mobile devices. Data sessions cancomprise traffic, or content(s), exchanged with networks external to themobile network platform 510, like wide area network(s) (WANs) 550,enterprise network(s) 570, and service network(s) 580, which can beembodied in local area network(s) (LANs), can also be interfaced withmobile network platform 510 through PS gateway node(s) 518. It is to benoted that WANs 550 and enterprise network(s) 570 can embody, at leastin part, a service network(s) like IP multimedia subsystem (IMS). Basedon radio technology layer(s) available in technology resource(s) orradio access network 520, PS gateway node(s) 518 can generate packetdata protocol contexts when a data session is established; other datastructures that facilitate routing of packetized data also can begenerated. To that end, in an aspect, PS gateway node(s) 518 cancomprise a tunnel interface (e.g., tunnel termination gateway (TTG) in3GPP UMTS network(s) (not shown)) which can facilitate packetizedcommunication with disparate wireless network(s), such as Wi-Finetworks.

In embodiment 500, mobile network platform 510 also comprises servingnode(s) 516 that, based upon available radio technology layer(s) withintechnology resource(s) in the radio access network 520, convey thevarious packetized flows of data streams received through PS gatewaynode(s) 518. It is to be noted that for technology resource(s) that relyprimarily on CS communication, server node(s) can deliver trafficwithout reliance on PS gateway node(s) 518; for example, server node(s)can embody at least in part a mobile switching center. As an example, ina 3GPP UMTS network, serving node(s) 516 can be embodied in serving GPRSsupport node(s) (SGSN).

For radio technologies that exploit packetized communication, server(s)514 in mobile network platform 510 can execute numerous applicationsthat can generate multiple disparate packetized data streams or flows,and manage (e.g., schedule, queue, format . . . ) such flows. Suchapplication(s) can comprise add-on features to standard services (forexample, provisioning, billing, customer support . . . ) provided bymobile network platform 510. Data streams (e.g., content(s) that arepart of a voice call or data session) can be conveyed to PS gatewaynode(s) 518 for authorization/authentication and initiation of a datasession, and to serving node(s) 516 for communication thereafter. Inaddition to application server, server(s) 514 can comprise utilityserver(s), a utility server can comprise a provisioning server, anoperations and maintenance server, a security server that can implementat least in part a certificate authority and firewalls as well as othersecurity mechanisms, and the like. In an aspect, security server(s)secure communication served through mobile network platform 510 toensure network's operation and data integrity in addition toauthorization and authentication procedures that CS gateway node(s) 512and PS gateway node(s) 518 can enact. Moreover, provisioning server(s)can provision services from external network(s) like networks operatedby a disparate service provider; for instance, WAN 550 or GlobalPositioning System (GPS) network(s) (not shown). Provisioning server(s)can also provision coverage through networks associated to mobilenetwork platform 510 (e.g., deployed and operated by the same serviceprovider), such as the distributed antennas networks shown in FIG. 1(s)that enhance wireless service coverage by providing more networkcoverage.

It is to be noted that server(s) 514 can comprise one or more processorsconfigured to confer at least in part the functionality of mobilenetwork platform 510. To that end, the one or more processors canexecute code instructions stored in memory 530, for example. It shouldbe appreciated that server(s) 514 can comprise a content manager, whichoperates in substantially the same manner as described hereinbefore.

In example embodiment 500, memory 530 can store information related tooperation of mobile network platform 510. Other operational informationcan comprise provisioning information of mobile devices served throughmobile network platform 510, subscriber databases; applicationintelligence, pricing schemes, e.g., promotional rates, flat-rateprograms, couponing campaigns; technical specification(s) consistentwith telecommunication protocols for operation of disparate radio, orwireless, technology layers; and so forth. Memory 530 can also storeinformation from at least one of telephony network(s) 540, WAN 550, SS7network 560, or enterprise network(s) 570. In an aspect, memory 530 canbe, for example, accessed as part of a data store component or as aremotely connected memory store.

In order to provide a context for the various aspects of the disclosedsubject matter, FIG. 5 , and the following discussion, are intended toprovide a brief, general description of a suitable environment in whichthe various aspects of the disclosed subject matter can be implemented.While the subject matter has been described above in the general contextof computer-executable instructions of a computer program that runs on acomputer and/or computers, those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe disclosed subject matter also can be implemented in combination withother program modules. Generally, program modules comprise routines,programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform particulartasks and/or implement particular abstract data types.

Turning now to FIG. 6 , an illustrative embodiment of a communicationdevice 600 is shown. The communication device 600 can serve as anillustrative embodiment of devices such as data terminals 114, mobiledevices 124, vehicle 126, display devices 144 or other client devicesfor communication via either communications network 125. For example,computing device 600 receiving over a network from a server a contentitem such as a video or other media content item, wherein the contentitem includes a plurality of content placement opportunities which eachhave a relative prominence in a scene or portion of the content item,and receiving advertisements or other content items according to desiredprominence so that, for example, an advertisement having a highestdesired prominence by an advertiser is placed most prominently in thecontent item by the computing device.

The communication device 600 can comprise a wireline and/or wirelesstransceiver 602 (herein transceiver 602), a user interface (UI) 604, apower supply 614, a location receiver 616, a motion sensor 618, anorientation sensor 620, and a controller 606 for managing operationsthereof. The transceiver 602 can support short-range or long-rangewireless access technologies such as Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, WiFi, DECT, orcellular communication technologies, just to mention a few (Bluetooth®and ZigBee® are trademarks registered by the Bluetooth® Special InterestGroup and the ZigBee® Alliance, respectively). Cellular technologies caninclude, for example, CDMA-1×, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE, EV/DO,WiMAX, SDR, LTE, as well as other next generation wireless communicationtechnologies as they arise. The transceiver 602 can also be adapted tosupport circuit-switched wireline access technologies (such as PSTN),packet-switched wireline access technologies (such as TCP/IP, VoIP,etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 604 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 608 witha navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, a joystick, a mouse, or anavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device600. The keypad 608 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 600 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or awireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth®. The keypad 608 canrepresent a numeric keypad commonly used by phones, and/or a QWERTYkeypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 604 can further include a display610 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), OLED(Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technology forconveying images to an end user of the communication device 600. In anembodiment where the display 610 is touch-sensitive, a portion or all ofthe keypad 608 can be presented by way of the display 610 withnavigation features.

The display 610 can use touch screen technology to also serve as a userinterface for detecting user input. As a touch screen display, thecommunication device 600 can be adapted to present a user interfacehaving graphical user interface (GUI) elements that can be selected by auser with a touch of a finger. The display 610 can be equipped withcapacitive, resistive or other forms of sensing technology to detect howmuch surface area of a user's finger has been placed on a portion of thetouch screen display. This sensing information can be used to controlthe manipulation of the GUI elements or other functions of the userinterface. The display 610 can be an integral part of the housingassembly of the communication device 600 or an independent devicecommunicatively coupled thereto by a tethered wireline interface (suchas a cable) or a wireless interface.

The UI 604 can also include an audio system 612 that utilizes audiotechnology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heard inproximity of a human ear) and high-volume audio (such as speakerphonefor hands free operation). The audio system 612 can further include amicrophone for receiving audible signals of an end user. The audiosystem 612 can also be used for voice recognition applications. The UI604 can further include an image sensor 613 such as a charged coupleddevice (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 614 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and/or charging system technologies for supplying energyto the components of the communication device 600 to facilitatelong-range or short-range portable communications. Alternatively, or incombination, the charging system can utilize external power sources suchas DC power supplied over a physical interface such as a USB port orother suitable tethering technologies.

The location receiver 616 can utilize location technology such as aglobal positioning system (GPS) receiver capable of assisted GPS foridentifying a location of the communication device 600 based on signalsgenerated by a constellation of GPS satellites, which can be used forfacilitating location services such as navigation. The motion sensor 618can utilize motion sensing technology such as an accelerometer, agyroscope, or other suitable motion sensing technology to detect motionof the communication device 600 in three-dimensional space. Theorientation sensor 620 can utilize orientation sensing technology suchas a magnetometer to detect the orientation of the communication device600 (north, south, west, and east, as well as combined orientations indegrees, minutes, or other suitable orientation metrics).

The communication device 600 can use the transceiver 602 to alsodetermine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth®, or other wirelessaccess points by sensing techniques such as utilizing a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI) and/or signal time of arrival (TOA) or time offlight (TOF) measurements. The controller 606 can utilize computingtechnologies such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP),programmable gate arrays, application specific integrated circuits,and/or a video processor with associated storage memory such as Flash,ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM or other storage technologies for executingcomputer instructions, controlling, and processing data supplied by theaforementioned components of the communication device 600.

Other components not shown in FIG. 6 can be used in one or moreembodiments of the subject disclosure. For instance, the communicationdevice 600 can include a slot for adding or removing an identity modulesuch as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card or Universal IntegratedCircuit Card (UICC). SIM or UICC cards can be used for identifyingsubscriber services, executing programs, storing subscriber data, and soon.

The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and so forth, as used in theclaims, unless otherwise clear by context, is for clarity only anddoesn't otherwise indicate or imply any order in time. For instance, “afirst determination,” “a second determination,” and “a thirddetermination,” does not indicate or imply that the first determinationis to be made before the second determination, or vice versa, etc.

In the subject specification, terms such as “store,” “storage,” “datastore,” data storage,” “database,” and substantially any otherinformation storage component relevant to operation and functionality ofa component, refer to “memory components,” or entities embodied in a“memory” or components comprising the memory. It will be appreciatedthat the memory components described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory, or can comprise both volatile andnonvolatile memory, by way of illustration, and not limitation, volatilememory, non-volatile memory, disk storage, and memory storage. Further,nonvolatile memory can be included in read only memory (ROM),programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory cancomprise random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cachememory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available inmany forms such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM),synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhancedSDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM).Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems or methodsherein are intended to comprise, without being limited to comprising,these and any other suitable types of memory.

Moreover, it will be noted that the disclosed subject matter can bepracticed with other computer system configurations, comprisingsingle-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, mini-computingdevices, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-heldcomputing devices (e.g., PDA, phone, smartphone, watch, tabletcomputers, netbook computers, etc.), microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer or industrial electronics, and the like. Theillustrated aspects can also be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network; however, some if not allaspects of the subject disclosure can be practiced on stand-alonecomputers. In a distributed computing environment, program modules canbe located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

In one or more embodiments, information regarding use of services can begenerated including services being accessed, media consumption history,user preferences, and so forth. This information can be obtained byvarious methods including user input, detecting types of communications(e.g., video content vs. audio content), analysis of content streams,sampling, and so forth. The generating, obtaining and/or monitoring ofthis information can be responsive to an authorization provided by theuser. In one or more embodiments, an analysis of data can be subject toauthorization from user(s) associated with the data, such as an opt-in,an opt-out, acknowledgement requirements, notifications, selectiveauthorization based on types of data, and so forth.

Some of the embodiments described herein can also employ artificialintelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) or a combination of these tofacilitate automating one or more features described herein. Theembodiments (e.g., in connection with automatically identifying acquiredcell sites that provide a maximum value/benefit after addition to anexisting communication network) can employ various AI-based schemes forcarrying out various embodiments thereof. Moreover, the classifier canbe employed to determine a ranking or priority of each cell site of theacquired network. A classifier is a function that maps an inputattribute vector, x=(x1, x2, x3, x4, . . . , xn), to a confidence thatthe input belongs to a class, that is, f(x)=confidence (class). Suchclassification can employ a probabilistic and/or statistical-basedanalysis (e.g., factoring into the analysis utilities and costs) todetermine or infer an action that a user desires to be automaticallyperformed. A support vector machine (SVM) is an example of a classifierthat can be employed. The SVM operates by finding a hypersurface in thespace of possible inputs, which the hypersurface attempts to split thetriggering criteria from the non-triggering events. Intuitively, thismakes the classification correct for testing data that is near, but notidentical to training data. Other directed and undirected modelclassification approaches comprise, e.g., naïve Bayes, Bayesiannetworks, decision trees, neural networks, fuzzy logic models, andprobabilistic classification models providing different patterns ofindependence can be employed. Classification as used herein also isinclusive of statistical regression that is utilized to develop modelsof priority.

As will be readily appreciated, one or more of the embodiments canemploy classifiers that are explicitly trained (e.g., via a generictraining data) as well as implicitly trained (e.g., via observing UEbehavior, operator preferences, historical information, receivingextrinsic information). For example, SVMs can be configured via alearning or training phase within a classifier constructor and featureselection module. Thus, the classifier(s) can be used to automaticallylearn and perform a number of functions, including but not limited todetermining according to predetermined criteria which of the acquiredcell sites will benefit a maximum number of subscribers and/or which ofthe acquired cell sites will add minimum value to the existingcommunication network coverage, etc.

As used in some contexts in this application, in some embodiments, theterms “component,” “system” and the like are intended to refer to, orcomprise, a computer-related entity or an entity related to anoperational apparatus with one or more specific functionalities, whereinthe entity can be either hardware, a combination of hardware andsoftware, software, or software in execution. As an example, a componentmay be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, aprocessor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution,computer-executable instructions, a program, and/or a computer. By wayof illustration and not limitation, both an application running on aserver and the server can be a component. One or more components mayreside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component maybe localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers. In addition, these components can execute from variouscomputer readable media having various data structures stored thereon.The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such asin accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., datafrom one component interacting with another component in a local system,distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet withother systems via the signal). As another example, a component can be anapparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical partsoperated by electric or electronic circuitry, which is operated by asoftware or firmware application executed by a processor, wherein theprocessor can be internal or external to the apparatus and executes atleast a part of the software or firmware application. As yet anotherexample, a component can be an apparatus that provides specificfunctionality through electronic components without mechanical parts,the electronic components can comprise a processor therein to executesoftware or firmware that confers at least in part the functionality ofthe electronic components. While various components have beenillustrated as separate components, it will be appreciated that multiplecomponents can be implemented as a single component, or a singlecomponent can be implemented as multiple components, without departingfrom example embodiments.

Further, the various embodiments can be implemented as a method,apparatus or article of manufacture using standard programming and/orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device or computer-readable storage/communicationsmedia. For example, computer readable storage media can include, but arenot limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk,magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digitalversatile disk (DVD)), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g.,card, stick, key drive). Of course, those skilled in the art willrecognize many modifications can be made to this configuration withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the various embodiments.

In addition, the words “example” and “exemplary” are used herein to meanserving as an instance or illustration. Any embodiment or designdescribed herein as “example” or “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments ordesigns. Rather, use of the word example or exemplary is intended topresent concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, theterm “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive“or”. That is, unless specified otherwise or clear from context, “Xemploys A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusivepermutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both Aand B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoinginstances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in thisapplication and the appended claims should generally be construed tomean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context tobe directed to a singular form.

Moreover, terms such as “user equipment,” “mobile station,” “mobile,”subscriber station,” “access terminal,” “terminal,” “handset,” “mobiledevice” (and/or terms representing similar terminology) can refer to awireless device utilized by a subscriber or user of a wirelesscommunication service to receive or convey data, control, voice, video,sound, gaming or substantially any data-stream or signaling-stream. Theforegoing terms are utilized interchangeably herein and with referenceto the related drawings.

Furthermore, the terms “user,” “subscriber,” “customer,” “consumer” andthe like are employed interchangeably throughout, unless contextwarrants particular distinctions among the terms. It should beappreciated that such terms can refer to human entities or automatedcomponents supported through artificial intelligence or machine learningor a combination of these (e.g., a capacity to make inference based, atleast, on complex mathematical formalisms), which can provide simulatedvision, sound recognition and so forth.

As employed herein, the term “processor” can refer to substantially anycomputing processing unit or device comprising, but not limited tocomprising, single-core processors; single-processors with softwaremultithread execution capability; multi-core processors; multi-coreprocessors with software multithread execution capability; multi-coreprocessors with hardware multithread technology; parallel platforms; andparallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, aprocessor can refer to an integrated circuit, an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic controller (PLC), acomplex programmable logic device (CPLD), a discrete gate or transistorlogic, discrete hardware components or any combination thereof designedto perform the functions described herein. Processors can exploitnano-scale architectures such as, but not limited to, molecular andquantum-dot based transistors, switches and gates, in order to optimizespace usage or enhance performance of user equipment. A processor canalso be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

As used herein, terms such as “data storage,” data storage,” “database,”and substantially any other information storage component relevant tooperation and functionality of a component, refer to “memorycomponents,” or entities embodied in a “memory” or components comprisingthe memory. It will be appreciated that the memory components orcomputer-readable storage media, described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory or can include both volatile andnonvolatile memory.

What has been described above includes mere examples of variousembodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe everyconceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes ofdescribing these examples, but one of ordinary skill in the art canrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the presentembodiments are possible. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed and/orclaimed herein are intended to embrace all such alterations,modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes”is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term isintended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as“comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in aclaim.

In addition, a flow diagram may include a “start” and/or “continue”indication. The “start” and “continue” indications reflect that thesteps presented can optionally be incorporated in or otherwise used inconjunction with other routines. In this context, “start” indicates thebeginning of the first step presented and may be preceded by otheractivities not specifically shown. Further, the “continue” indicationreflects that the steps presented may be performed multiple times and/ormay be succeeded by other activities not specifically shown. Further,while a flow diagram indicates a particular ordering of steps, otherorderings are likewise possible provided that the principles ofcausality are maintained.

As may also be used herein, the term(s) “operably coupled to”, “coupledto”, and/or “coupling” includes direct coupling between items and/orindirect coupling between items via one or more intervening items. Suchitems and intervening items include, but are not limited to, junctions,communication paths, components, circuit elements, circuits, functionalblocks, and/or devices. As an example of indirect coupling, a signalconveyed from a first item to a second item may be modified by one ormore intervening items by modifying the form, nature or format ofinformation in a signal, while one or more elements of the informationin the signal are nevertheless conveyed in a manner than can berecognized by the second item. In a further example of indirectcoupling, an action in a first item can cause a reaction on the seconditem, as a result of actions and/or reactions in one or more interveningitems.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement which achieves thesame or similar purpose may be substituted for the embodiments describedor shown by the subject disclosure. The subject disclosure is intendedto cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, can be used in the subject disclosure.For instance, one or more features from one or more embodiments can becombined with one or more features of one or more other embodiments. Inone or more embodiments, features that are positively recited can alsobe negatively recited and excluded from the embodiment with or withoutreplacement by another structural and/or functional feature. The stepsor functions described with respect to the embodiments of the subjectdisclosure can be performed in any order. The steps or functionsdescribed with respect to the embodiments of the subject disclosure canbe performed alone or in combination with other steps or functions ofthe subject disclosure, as well as from other embodiments or from othersteps that have not been described in the subject disclosure. Further,more than or less than all of the features described with respect to anembodiment can also be utilized.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device, comprising: a processing system including a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising: receiving, over a network, a request to deliver media content to a media display device; determining, for each respective content placement opportunity of a plurality of content placement opportunities in the media content, a respective relative prominence score based on a relative importance in a scene of the respective content placement opportunity; selecting a respective content item for each respective content placement opportunity of the plurality of content placement opportunities according to the respective relative prominence score for the respective content placement opportunity; and delivering the media content and the respective content item for each respective content placement opportunity over the network to the media display device.
 2. The device of claim 1, further comprising detecting a plurality of content placement opportunities in the media content, including detecting one or more of a still image placement opportunity, a video image placement opportunity, and an audio placement opportunity in the media content.
 3. The device of claim 1, further comprising detecting a plurality of content placement opportunities in the media content, including detecting a background audio placement opportunity and a foreground audio placement opportunity in the media content.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: detecting a viewing opportunity in the media content while delivering the media content over the network to the media display device; determining a respective relative prominence score for the viewing opportunity; selecting a selected content item for the viewing opportunity based on a value of the respective relative prominence score for the viewing opportunity; and communicating the selected content item to the media display device.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving a call for a content item from the media display device while delivering the media content over the network to the media display device, the call for the content item corresponding to a viewing opportunity in the media content; determining a respective relative prominence score for the viewing opportunity; selecting a selected content item for the viewing opportunity based on a value of the respective relative prominence score for the viewing opportunity; and communicating the selected content item to the media display device.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: developing a preference profile for an audience viewing the media content; and selecting the respective content item based, at least in part, on the preference profile.
 7. The device of claim 6, wherein the operations further comprise: collecting user data about users or viewers of media content; and developing the preference profile based on the user data; and updating the preference profile over time as additional user data is collected.
 8. The device of claim 6, wherein the developing the preference profile for the audience comprises determining aggregate profile information for a plurality of audience members of the audience, and wherein selecting the respective content item comprises selecting content items based, at least in part, on the aggregate profile information.
 9. The device of claim 1, further comprising determining audio content placement opportunities in the media content and wherein the delivering the respective content item over the network to the media display device comprises delivering an audio clip to the media display device for playback with the respective content item.
 10. The device of claim 9, wherein the delivering an audio clip to the media display device for playback comprises delivering a segment of prerecorded audio containing dialogue including a product name in place of other audio content of the media content.
 11. A method, comprising: detecting, by a processing system including a processor, content placement opportunities in a scene of a content item to be provided to a media display device, each respective content placement opportunity having a relative prominence in the scene of the content item; detecting, by the processing system, a preference profile for a user of the media display device; identifying, by the processing system, matching advertising items that match the preference profile for the user; determining, by the processing system, a respective relative prominence score for each content placement opportunity; and selecting, by the processing system, matching advertising items according to respective prominence information of the matching advertising items, forming matching advertising items, the matching advertising items to be provided with the content item to the media display device, each respective matching advertising item associated with a respective content placement opportunity.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: selecting by the processing system, the matching advertising items according to advertiser bid amounts, wherein the selecting comprises selecting a first matching advertising item having a highest bid amount for a content placement opportunity having a highest relative prominence score and selecting a second matching advertising item having a next-highest bid amount for a content placement opportunity have a next-highest relative prominence score.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the determining a respective relative prominence score for each content placement opportunity comprises determining the respective relative prominence score based on one or more of a size, an importance, a degree of motion and a duration of the each respective content placement opportunity, wherein the each respective content placement opportunity comprises a video or still image placement opportunity.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the each respective content placement opportunity comprises a video placement opportunity or a still image placement opportunity.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the determining a respective relative prominence score for each content placement opportunity comprises determining the respective relative prominence score based on one or more of an audio volume, a relevance, a degree of musicality and a duration of the each respective content placement opportunity, wherein the each respective content placement opportunity comprises an audio placement opportunity.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the selecting the matching advertising items comprises selecting, by the processing system, a product jingle for playing as background music in the scene of the content item.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the selecting the matching advertising items comprises generating, by the processing system, a portion of audio dialogue that contains a product name for playing as background sound in the scene of the content item.
 18. A non-transitory, machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising: providing to a user device a video content item, the video content item including a plurality of scenes, at least one scene of the plurality of scenes including a plurality of advertisement placement opportunities; selecting matching advertisements having advertisement profiles that match a preference profile for an individual associated with the user device; determining a relative prominence score for each advertisement placement opportunity of the plurality of advertisement placement opportunities; associating the matching advertisements with a relative desired prominence specified by an advertiser associated with the matching advertisements; and providing the matching advertisements to the user device according to the desired prominence so that a matching advertisement having a greatest desired prominence is displayed in the video content item at an advertisement placement opportunity having a highest relative prominence score.
 19. The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the determining the relative prominence score for each advertisement placement opportunity comprises determining the relative prominence score based on one or more of a size, an importance, a degree of motion and a duration of the each advertisement placement opportunity, wherein the each advertisement placement opportunity comprises a video or still image placement opportunity.
 20. The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise selecting one or more audio advertisements according to respective audio desired prominence information for a plurality of audio advertisements so that an audio advertisement having highest respective desired audio prominence is played in the at least one scene of the video content item. 